SARASOTA, FLA.- On April 25, 2018, Beverly Pepper’s monumental sculpture, Curvae in Curvae (2012) was installed in front of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Curvae in Curvae is part of the promised gift of works by philanthropists Keith and Linda Monda. In March of this year, the Ringling announced the couple’s $5 million investment in the Museum’s Art of Our Time program, ensuring that contemporary art has a permanent place at The Ringling.

“This prominent location underscores our dedication to showing important works of contemporary art and how they can integrate seamlessly with John Ringling’s original collection,” said Steven High, executive director of the Ringling.

Curvae in Curvae is a continuation of Beverly Pepper’s examination of monumentality and lyrical forms, which are recurrent themes in her sculpture. This work appears to be bending shape, space, time and place. Fabricated in Cor-ten steel and then oxidized, the sculpture is an example of the artist’s interest in curved surfaces and manipulated heavy materials which traces back to the beginning of her artistic practice. Pepper is an American sculptor who has been practicing for more than 50 years. She has worked extensively with public sites creating numerous environmental works and sculptures in the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe and Asia.

“It was important to us that women artists be featured at the Ringling. Of the four promised gifts from our collection, two are by important women artists working today. We hope young visitors to the Ringling are inspired to challenge themselves, look at the world in a new way and realize their future is limitless,” said Keith Monda.

Concurrently, Lygia and the Bull will be relocated to the west side of the Searing Wing. The artist of Lygia is unknown. The sculpture was created between 1896 and 1928 and has been in front of the Museum of Art since the 1940s. It will now reside across the path from the Farnese Bull, a modern copy of an ancient sculpture created in the early 20th century. The sculptures on the grounds of the Ringling are not site-specific, allowing the Museum to reimagine their positioning and create new ways of experiencing them.

“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to present Pepper’s sculpture in such a visible location on the Ringling’s grounds,” said Ola Wlusek, Keith D. and Linda. L Monda curator of modern and contemporary art. “I look forward to a future of working with Keith and Linda Monda and their important and robust collection.”